From: mmd@zuaxp0.star.ucl.ac.uk (Michael Dworetsky)
Subject: Re: Ariane 5 failure
Date: 1996/10/01
Date: 1996-10-01T00:00:00+00:00 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <1996Oct1.093107.47351@ucl.ac.uk> (raw)
In-Reply-To: 843845039.4461.0@assen.demon.co.uk
In article <843845039.4461.0@assen.demon.co.uk> john@assen.demon.co.uk (John McCabe) writes:
>rav@goanna.cs.rmit.edu.au (@@ robin) wrote:
>
><..snip..>
>
>Just a point for your information. From clari.tw.space:
>
> "An inquiry board investigating the explosion concluded in
>July that the failure was caused by software design errors in a
>guidance system."
>
>Note software DESIGN errors - not programming errors.
>
Indeed, the problems were in the specifications given to the programmers,
not in the coding activity itself. They wrote exactly what they were
asked to write, as far as I could see from reading the report summary.
The problem was caused by using software developed for Ariane 4's flight
characteristics, which were different from those of Ariane 5. When the
launch vehicle exceeded the boundary parameters of the Ariane-4 software,
it send an error message and, as specified by the remit given to
programmers, a critical guidance system shut down in mid-flight. Ka-boom.
--
Mike Dworetsky, Department of Physics | Haiku: Nine men ogle gnats
& Astronomy, University College London | all lit
Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT UK | till last angel gone.
email: mmd@star.ucl.ac.uk | Men in Ukiah.
next prev parent reply other threads:[~1996-10-01 0:00 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 105+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
[not found] <agrapsDy4oJH.29G@netcom.com>
1996-09-25 0:00 ` Ariane 5 failure @@ robin
1996-09-25 0:00 ` Michel OLAGNON
1996-09-25 0:00 ` Chris Morgan
1996-09-25 0:00 ` Byron Kauffman
1996-09-25 0:00 ` A. Grant
1996-09-25 0:00 ` Ken Garlington
1996-09-26 0:00 ` Sandy McPherson
1996-09-26 0:00 ` Byron Kauffman
1996-09-27 0:00 ` A. Grant
1996-09-25 0:00 ` Bob Kitzberger
1996-09-26 0:00 ` Ronald Kunne
1996-09-26 0:00 ` Matthew Heaney
1996-09-27 0:00 ` Wayne Hayes
1996-09-27 0:00 ` Richard Pattis
1996-09-29 0:00 ` Dann Corbit
1996-09-29 0:00 ` Alan Brain
1996-09-29 0:00 ` Chris McKnight
1996-09-29 0:00 ` Real-world education (was: Ariane 5 failure) Michael Feldman
1996-10-01 0:00 ` Ariane 5 failure Ken Garlington
1996-09-27 0:00 ` Ronald Kunne
1996-09-27 0:00 ` Lawrence Foard
1996-10-04 0:00 ` @@ robin
1996-09-28 0:00 ` Ken Garlington
1996-09-28 0:00 ` Ken Garlington
1996-09-29 0:00 ` Alan Brain
1996-09-29 0:00 ` Robert A Duff
1996-09-30 0:00 ` Wayne L. Beavers
1996-10-01 0:00 ` Ken Garlington
1996-10-01 0:00 ` Wayne L. Beavers
1996-10-01 0:00 ` Ken Garlington
1996-10-02 0:00 ` Sandy McPherson
1996-10-03 0:00 ` Richard A. O'Keefe
1996-10-01 0:00 ` Ken Garlington
1996-09-28 0:00 ` Ken Garlington
1996-09-27 0:00 ` Alan Brain
1996-09-28 0:00 ` Ken Garlington
1996-09-27 0:00 ` Ken Garlington
1996-09-29 0:00 ` Louis K. Scheffer
1996-09-27 0:00 ` John McCabe
1996-10-01 0:00 ` Michael Dworetsky [this message]
1996-10-04 0:00 ` Steve Bell
1996-10-07 0:00 ` Ken Garlington
1996-10-09 0:00 ` @@ robin
1996-10-09 0:00 ` Steve O'Neill
1996-10-12 0:00 ` Alan Brain
1996-10-04 0:00 ` @@ robin
1996-10-04 0:00 ` Joseph C Williams
1996-10-06 0:00 ` Wayne Hayes
1996-10-04 0:00 ` Michel OLAGNON
1996-10-09 0:00 ` @@ robin
1996-10-17 0:00 ` Ralf Tilch
1996-10-17 0:00 ` Ravi Sundaram
1996-10-22 0:00 ` shmuel
1996-10-22 0:00 ` Jim Carr
1996-10-24 0:00 ` hayim
1996-10-25 0:00 ` Michel OLAGNON
1996-10-25 0:00 ` Ken Garlington
1996-10-01 0:00 Marin David Condic, 407.796.8997, M/S 731-93
1996-10-02 0:00 ` Matthew Heaney
1996-10-04 0:00 ` Ken Garlington
1996-10-05 0:00 ` Robert Dewar
1996-10-06 0:00 ` Keith Thompson
1996-10-10 0:00 ` Ken Garlington
1996-10-14 0:00 ` Matthew Heaney
1996-10-15 0:00 ` Robert Dewar
1996-10-16 0:00 ` Ken Garlington
1996-10-18 0:00 ` Keith Thompson
1996-10-18 0:00 ` Samuel T. Harris
1996-10-21 0:00 ` Ken Garlington
1996-10-18 0:00 ` Ken Garlington
1996-10-23 0:00 ` robin
1996-10-02 0:00 ` Robert I. Eachus
1996-10-02 0:00 ` Ken Garlington
-- strict thread matches above, loose matches on Subject: below --
1996-10-01 0:00 Marin David Condic, 407.796.8997, M/S 731-93
1996-10-02 0:00 ` Ken Garlington
1996-10-01 0:00 Marin David Condic, 407.796.8997, M/S 731-93
1996-10-02 0:00 ` Alan Brain
1996-10-02 0:00 ` Ken Garlington
1996-10-02 0:00 ` Matthew Heaney
1996-10-04 0:00 ` Robert S. White
1996-10-05 0:00 ` Robert Dewar
1996-10-05 0:00 ` Alan Brain
1996-10-06 0:00 ` Robert S. White
1996-10-03 0:00 ` Alan Brain
1996-10-04 0:00 ` Ken Garlington
1996-10-03 0:00 Marin David Condic, 407.796.8997, M/S 731-93
1996-10-03 0:00 Marin David Condic, 407.796.8997, M/S 731-93
1996-10-03 0:00 Marin David Condic, 407.796.8997, M/S 731-93
1996-10-14 0:00 Marin David Condic, 407.796.8997, M/S 731-93
1996-10-15 0:00 ` Robert I. Eachus
1996-10-15 0:00 ` Robert Dewar
1996-10-16 0:00 ` Michael F Brenner
1996-10-16 0:00 ` Robert Dewar
1996-10-23 0:00 ` robin
1996-10-16 0:00 Marin David Condic, 407.796.8997, M/S 731-93
1996-10-18 0:00 ` Ken Garlington
1996-10-19 0:00 ` Frank Manning
1996-10-21 0:00 ` Norman H. Cohen
1996-10-21 0:00 Marin David Condic, 407.796.8997, M/S 731-93
1996-10-22 0:00 ` Adam Beneschan
1996-10-28 0:00 Marin David Condic, 561.796.8997, M/S 731-93
1996-10-28 0:00 Marin David Condic, 561.796.8997, M/S 731-93
1996-10-29 0:00 ` Ken Garlington
1996-11-08 0:00 ` robin
1996-10-31 0:00 Marin David Condic, 561.796.8997, M/S 731-93
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